Russian forces use less armored equipment for assaults on frontlines - ISW
The Russian army is running out of armored equipment supplies (Illustrative photo: Vitalii Nosach/RBC-Ukraine)
In recent weeks, Russian forces have been using less armored equipment during assaults on the most active sections of the front. The enemy is likely trying to conserve its equipment due to reduced Soviet-era stocks, reports the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
According to Ukrainian military sources, Russian forces have been using less armored equipment and conducting fewer mechanized attacks in the Kurakhove direction after suffering significant losses of equipment in October and November 2024.
A spokesperson for one of the Ukrainian brigades operating in the Kurakhove direction stated on January 3 that, in recent weeks, the aggressor's forces have primarily relied on infantry for attacks in the area, using armored vehicles only for fire support during infantry operations.
A Ukrainian lieutenant colonel, speaking to The New York Times, noted that during assaults in eastern Ukraine, Russian troops have increasingly been using electric scooters, motorcycles, and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). He suggested that this could be part of Russia's ongoing efforts to compensate for the losses of armored equipment.
The ISW also noted that attacks near medium-sized urban settlements, such as Kurakhove and Pokrovsk, may be less favorable for mechanized assaults than in smaller towns and open fields, where Russian forces have been advancing for most of 2024.
"Russian forces may be using fewer armored vehicles in the Kurakhove and Pokrovsk directions if the Russian military is struggling to reequip frontline Russian units and formations and if Russian military command does not want to withdraw Russian units for rest and reconstitution and risk further slowing Russian advances in high-priority frontline sectors," ISW analysts suggest.
The Institute also believes that the current pace of armored vehicle and tank production in Russia suggests that such losses will likely be unsustainable in the long term. This is especially due to Russia's continued reduction of its Soviet-era stocks.
"It appears increasingly unlikely that the Russian military can sustain its current annual rate of almost 9,000 armored vehicle losses through 2025. This loss rate is nearly three times the annual loss rate of the first two years of the war according to IISS, suggesting that the February 2024 IISS estimate that Russia can sustain its vehicle losses through 2025 and possibly 2026 is no longer valid," the ISW report states.
Russia's losses in the war against Ukraine
Russian forces continue to report colossal losses in combat against the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
On January 4, 1,510 Russian soldiers were killed on the front lines in a single day. Russian forces also lost 23 artillery systems, 23 armored fighting vehicles, and a helicopter.
ISW analysts do not rule out that the Russian forces are planning an offensive towards the administrative border between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
In the Kurakhove area, during intense assaults, the Ukrainian Armed Forces eliminated about two Russian infantry squads.
